Various large-scale industrial refrigeration systems are known in the art. One approach to large-scale industrial refrigeration systems essentially comprises the use of an evaporative condenser in combination with ammonia (NH3) as a refrigerant. In such a system, the heat exchanger is continuously sprayed with water, which removes heat from the circulating vaporous ammonia in the heat exchanger to form liquid ammonia. Evaporative condensers require large amounts of water, which can be costly to source, especially in geographic areas that are arid or areas that may be suffering from drought. Additionally, the use of evaporative condensers can often result in large amounts of wastewater, which can be costly to treat and/or dispose of. Accordingly, it can be advantageous to improve refrigeration systems to reduce energy, water, and wastewater costs.
Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.